Improbable coaches lead teams in NHL's marquee matchup

Thursday

PITTSBURGH — A Stanley Cup playoff matchup between Sidney Crosby and the Penguins and Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals is one the hockey world has waited for with bated breath for four years.

The coaching matchup in this Eastern Conference semifinals, however, is one that few could have imagined just three months ago.

Chances are, up until last spring most had never heard the name Bruce Boudreau. Nor had anyone known of Dan Bylsma. But, here the two coaches stand on the precipice of the most anticipated series of the NHL postseason.

For these two men, 14 years apart in age, who cut their coaching teeth on the buses of the American Hockey League, it’s not just a dream matchup between the two biggest stars in the hockey universe — it’s a dream come true. Or as Boudreau, the Capitals’ coach dubbed it, “the circus.”

In fact, the last 18 months have been quite a circus for Boudreau. After coaching for 14 years in various minor leagues, Boudreau was promoted from Washington’s AHL affiliate in Hershey to the Capitals last fall on an interim basis. What followed was 37-17-7 stretch run that earned the Capitals a division title and coach of the year honors.

This season, Boudreau’s Capitals are again Southeast champs and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Before that, Boudreau was most famous for being the 11th-highest scorer in AHL history … oh, and a cameo appearance in the cult classic “Slap Shot.”

“He’s probably like me, still nervous and anxious,” Boudreau said of his Pittsburgh counterpart. “The only thing is he’s been in the NHL longer than I have, when you count his playing days.”

That’s true.

Bylsma played a grand total of 429 NHL games as a third- and fourth-liner. His claim to “fame” was falling while on a 2-on-1 with Los Angeles teammate Wayne Gretzky.

In February, Bylsma, was plugging away in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in his first season as head coach of the Baby Penguins. With the parent club struggling, general manager Ray Shero summoned Bylsma to replace Michel Therrien after the defending conference champions had fallen five points out of the playoff picture. Bylsma then led the Penguins to an 18-3-4 record over the final 25 games and promptly eliminated Philadelphia in six games in the first round.

As an assistant last season at Wilkes-Barre, Bylsma often faced Boudreau’s Hershey Bears. He also played for the Kings while Boudreau was in the L.A. organization. The Penguins’ coach says he has “a pretty good idea” of how Boudreau’s Capitals will play.

“There’s a lot of familiarity there with him and his teams,” said Bylsma, who just this week had the interim tag lifted off his job title. “We know we’re going to play a team that’s much like us with skill and speed, and they are going to attack. They can put you in a lot of tough spots based on the way they play. … It’s going to be two good teams butting heads kind of trying to play the same way. It’ll be interesting.”

For two coaches of limited NHL experience, these humble hockey lifers realize their teams are on center stage. Despite the ill-will between the Penguins and Capitals, Boudreau isn’t worried about how his young stars will handle the pressure.

“I watch my Alexes (Ovechkin and Semin) here and there’s not animosity or vindictiveness in anything they say,” Boudreau said. “But anything they do say will be picked up and it’ll be a lot of top news in the series.

“I don’t want them to change how they are. (Ovechkin) is a fun-loving guy, says what’s on his mind, doesn’t worry about it. But he’s smart enough to know at this time not to say anything silly.”

Bylsma concurred.

“It makes for a great story and makes for great media and it makes for a great product,” Bylsma said. “If I was the NHL, only thing I could have wished for was the (series to be) the conference final.”

Considering the distance Boudreau and Bylsma have traveled in such a short time, suffice to say, a second-round series isn’t bad, either.

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